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Hispanic Heritage Day to be celebrated at Bent's Old Fort

Posted:
09/06/2018 02:31:17 PM MDT

The public is invited to join the denizens of Bent's Old Fort on Saturday, September 15 to celebrate the Hispanic heritage of this reconstructed trading post on the Santa Fe Trail. The event will feature living history, presentations on Hispanic merchants and cowboys, and an 1840s-style fandango in the fort plaza.

The broom dance is just one part of the fandango that will take place in the plaza of Bent's Old Fort as part of Hispanic Heritage Day on Saturday, September 15. (Courtesy Photo)

Living history, including adobe work, cooking, retablo painting, blacksmithing, and a cibolero (buffalo hunter) will be ongoing from 9 am to 4 pm. Horno cooking demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the side corral of the fort.

Special presentations will take place in the fort's Wagon Shed through the day:

The day will culminate with a fandango in the fort plaza from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. presented by Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo and the Southwest Musicians. This group specializes in music from 19th-century northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The fandango is meant to be very participatory and the musicians will lead those attending through the dances of the period.

Hispanic Heritage Day at Bent's Old Fort is part of the National Park Service's recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month which runs annually from September 15 to October 15. September 15 marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16.

The park will charge a special event fee for Hispanic Heritage Day. The fee for this full day of activities is only $5.00 for visitors 13 and older and $2.00 for ages 6 to 12. Kids 5 and under are free. National Park passes are honored for this fee. Fees will be collected at the fort entrance.

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site is located on Colorado Highway 194, 8 miles east of La Junta or 15 miles west of Las Animas. For more information, call the park at (719) 383-5010.

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